Development of Bug Shield: an Insect Proofing System to Prevent Flying Insects and Ground Insects from Entering at Shipping Doors

—Drives out flying insects and ground insects, the two major invasive insects, with the power of wind—

July 10, 2013Takenaka Corporation

Takenaka Corporation (President: Masahiro Miyashita) has, in cooperation with Airtech Japan, Ltd. (President: Shinya Hirasawa), jointly developed Bug Shield, a shipping door insect proofing system for use as a measure to keep insects out of pharmaceutical or food production plants and other facilities with a particularly strong need to control insect pests. Applicable in both new and existing buildings, it is effective when installed at doorways of buildings, in particular large openings such as shipping doors.

External View of Bug Shield

Blow-out area

Bug Shield is a system developed by combining two of Takenaka’s Bug Keeper devices※1 installed in the left and right sides of an opening matched to its height to capture flying insects with a roller shutter insect-proofing function that prevents ground insects from entering at the shutters. To keep out ground insects, which enter through the weak point of a roller shutter that is the gaps on the left and right corners at the bottom edge of its bottommost panel, air that the system has drawn in to capture flying insects is exhausted from the inside to the outside of the shutter to blow the ground insects away, preventing them from entering the door.

A verification test using typical ground insects (ants (formica japonica), woodlice (armadillidium vulgare)) achieved a 100 percent success rate in preventing the insects from entering when the shutter was closed (wood chips with a height of one centimeter were placed in the gaps on the left and right side of the bottom edge of the shutter, so insects could more easily enter).

At this time systems are sold integrated with roller shutters, but in the future, they will be installed on existing roller shutters and even on metal shutters.

※1Bug KeeperInsects attracted by ultraviolet light from insect attracting fluorescent lamps are sucked in by the force of a fan. This is effective in capturing flying inspects, particularly flies (diptera, muscidae, etc.)

Takenaka has incorporated the IPM (Integrated Pest Management)※2 approach in order to develop inspect-proofing technologies that are both environmentally friendly and people-friendly. This system adopts the IPM approach. Because it does not use chemicals, it can be safely and easily maintained, e.g., disposing of captured inspects or replacing the insect attracting.

※2IPM（Integrated Pest Management）A method of maintaining sanitary environments by minimizing the use of chemicals and holding down the number of insects to an allowable range.